MUSIC FOR SALE

"Song of the Samurai"

A petal falls
Next to a blade,
A bird flies
After being caged.

A samurai walks
On the rocks
Around Mount. Fuji
Close to the sea.

Remembering the faces
He has left behind,
And all the places
He cannot find.

What is life,
Other than sadness and strife?
Is it fair?
Who would care
Which one is right,
Darkness or light?

All these years
All his fears
Have come true
Amid the fields of bamboo.

All his days
Under sunrays
He has rehearsed
Blessed or cursed,
Facing the end,
Will he be prepared?
To finally bend,
To make death a friend?

A petal falls
Next to a blade,
A bird flies
After being caged.

Our samurai sits,
Cherry blossoms flow,
The water is serene,
And the air is clean.

“How lovely!” he thinks,
“This moment is mine,
Like the fragrance
Of an old, sweet wine.
So let me be here,
My poet, my dear,
I beg you to finish this line,
And let this moment be mine.”